Case Number 11255

G.I. JANE (BLU-RAY)

The Charge

Failure is not an option...unless this is Hollywood.

Opening Statement

It's a game of "who's oppressing whom" in Ridley Scott's 1997 film
G.I. Jane. If you like your feminism bubbling, your politics simmering,
and your bald women ripped and rough, you've come to the right place.

Facts of the Case

Feminist Texas Senator, Lillian DeHaven (Anne Bancroft, The Miracle
Worker), acting head of the Armed Service Committee, is outraged at the lack
of gender integration within the male-dominated military. In a power play, she
trades a confirmation vote for Secretary of the Navy-elect Theodore Hayes
(Daniel von Bargen, Super Troopers) in exchange for the enlistment of Lt.
Jordan O'Neil (Demi Moore, Striptease) into the SEAL program. Naturally,
the presiding naval brass aren't too keen on the idea, persisting in their
prevention of women in combat, but comply in order to secure Hayes'
confirmation. Jordan now has the task of enduring the rigorous training that
routinely dispenses with 60-percent of the male recruits, striving to break the
glass ceiling that would continue to deem women in the armed services require
special considerations and are, therefore, a liability to any military unit.

The Evidence

From its raw premise, G.I. Jane is a veritable powder keg certain to
explode in the faces on either side of this particular debate. The film would
serve, then, to mediate between the two opposing factions, providing equal time
for this long-standing argument over equal rights. Unfortunately, objectivity
seems absent in this particular dialogue, penned by Danielle Alexandra and David
Twohy (Pitch Black), given that every men-versus-women stereotype is
exploited without compunction. Ultimately, it exposes the most despicable
natures of military minds and political profiteers. The film begins with the
caustic Senator DeHaven exploiting a confirmation hearing through the surprise
issuance of damning details about the lack of sexual integration in the Armed
Forces. She then has the temerity to confirm the candidate, a man she publicly
blasted for his chauvinistic attitudes. For DeHaven, it's all about leveraging
her position to secure her own reelection.

Unscrupulous politicians.

We also see how O'Neil, as a Naval radar intelligence analyst, is snubbed
over her suggestions to ensure the safety of a small collective of troops facing
ambush in the Middle East. The presiding commander determines her analysis is
naive and proceeds to counter her suggestions only to discover she was right and
the potential losses are narrowly avoided.

Unenlightened officers.

Then, when it comes time to select a candidate for the SEAL "test
case" program, DeHaven is careful to choose a relatively attractive
individual, unwilling to risk a physically overdeveloped female might also bring
the embarrassment of being exposed as a lesbian.

Yeow!

When O'Neil arrives to the SEAL training camp, she's immediately ogled and
assailed by catcalls from the sexually aggressive cadets while her superior
officer, Capt. Salem (Scott Wilson, Pearl Harbor), seethes at the
political correctness that has infected his base, personified by O'Neil.

Asses!

And so the story goes, back and forth, the script never giving us much to
settle into since the whole operation, politically and militarily, appears
absolutely SNAFU. This isn't to say it's uninteresting; it's not. The acclaimed
Ridley Scott does well to construct a fast-paced drama, and he gives us plenty
of time with the different characters so we can appropriately root or hiss them.
Unfortunately, the characters are so two-dimensional that we can only develop
binary assessments of each. The other men at the SEAL training camp are shallow
and utilitarian in their existence, none provide any sort of interesting
backstory nor undergoing anything that would remotely resemble a character arc.
At the center of it all is Demi Moore as Lt. Jordan O'Neil, played by Demi
Moore. That is to say, we can never forget that it's Demi Moore we're watching
-- she plays Lt. Jordan O'Neil -- and it's really Demi Moore doing those extreme
ab-crunches and one-armed push-ups. Perhaps the point is belabored but certainly
G.I. Jane was intended to be a bounce-back project for the growingly
irrelevant Moore, who at the time was in the midst of a freefall following the
woeful The Scarlet Letter and Striptease. While there is much to
be admired in Moore's physique and commitment to "go commando" (well,
she shaved her head, anyway), we lose the relevance of the character of O'Neil
for all of Moore's upstaging screen presence. Some viewers might not take
exception to this but whenever a character cannot obscure the actor, we all
lose.

But there's plenty of rigorous and brutal training taking place and it does
become interesting to watch. Unfortunately, the script lacks the requisite
confidence to play out its intention and, instead, delivers a final act that is
so woefully contrived it smacks of the same cheese that set Top Gun
aloft. Ultimately, it renders any previous good work as almost completely
FUBAR.

G.I. Jane was one of the earliest DVD releases, being issued in 1998
with a non-anamorphic transfer that looked pretty dismal. Now, Buena Vista Home
Entertainment (via Touchstone Pictures) offers the film in a high-definition
transfer that should stand head and shoulders above its predecessor. Well, it
doesn't necessarily stand up to the rigorous expectations that early adopters
have established. The image is encoded in a 1080p / AVC transfer, framed at a
2.35:1 aspect ratio. From the opening frame, it's immediately apparent this disc
will be lacking, the depth looking flat and the color palette being noticeably
drab. Surely this is within the production design and many scenes were filmed
with a softened focus, but this only translates to an unimpressive high-def
presentation that hardly looks better than an upscaled DVD playback. If there
were any moments of "pop," they could be counted on one hand. The
audio, however, fared better, the uncompressed PCM 5.1 Surround track extending
the soundstage well and delivering many well-imaged directional effects
(especially the training sequences that featured bullets and tracer rounds
zinging overhead). Through it all, the dialog, stilted though it is, never gets
muddled. There are no extras on this disc.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Unfortunately for us all, G.I. Jane never opens up new dialogue over
the issue at hand, it merely fans the embers that have been smoldering for
decades. If it does bring light to anything, it's the fact that it's difficult
to determine which is more archaic: men's attitudes towards women or women's
attitudes towards men they believe have attitudes towards women. Despite itself,
the film comes off as a pissing contest through its vitriolic condemnation of
men and whining protest over women's' lack of military opportunities.

How mundane.

Closing Statement

While it would be satisfying to be able to shout out a "Hoo rah!"
for this Blu-ray release of G.I. Jane, cooler thoughts prevail and this
disc can only be marginally recommended. Rent it before you buy it because,
Blu-ray or not, this one inevitably fails to make a lasting impression.